My fish is in a one gallon. I was given a smaller one for him but felt like it wasn't right. The one gallon is all I could afford. I have rocks which he loves. He seems very happy. I'm planning on adding a heater. I was told by the pet store lower 70s was ok. Now I know it's not. I'm also planning on getting a different plant. His is plastic, and i fear it's edges might be too sharp. He is not filtered, but I clean him often, and don't have issues with it getting too filthy.

A one gallon is perfectly fine!! I've had my older Betta in this size bowl for over 2 years, and my younger one in the same size as well since September and they both LOVE it.

And, FYI, my house temp is between 67-70 practically year round, so cooler room temps are working for my fish. My Betta's love that temp range. My younger boy builds bubblenests right after each water change, is always active, and very happy.

If your fish becomes still, and is just sitting at the bottom of your bowl all the time in the lower 70's range, then maybe he's telling you that it's too cold for him. Watch your fish closely: I think that sometimes you can read their needs through they're behavior.

Keeping clean water is CRITICAL! I do 100% WC's every 4-6 days without fail.

PLEASE NOTE*: All of the above is JMO, and what works for my fish. It may not work for yours, but don't beat yourself up over a 1 gallon bowl. Many Betta experts on here use 1 gallon bowls, and their fish are fine.

I'm brand new to this website, but i've owned at least one betta for most of my life. Probably around 13 years or so. I currently have two bettas, a juvenile and an adult. The big guy is in a gallon and the little guy is in a 1/2 gallon. He has a live plant in with him and I have java moss on order for both. Both get regular water changes at least weekly.
The little guy I got as a fry, and since I did, his color has improved tremendously. I just got the adult since my last one passed away after four years, and he made a bubble nest the first night. Neither of these handsome males have a filter or a heater. My sister has an adult in a bowl and he always has a bubble nest made, and probably the most active fish i've ever met.
So while bettas do like space, if there are regular water changes being made, is the biggest and baddest supreme tank really necessary? There are fish owners who get a 20 gallon for one tiny betta, and the poor thing has a difficult time getting to the surface to breathe. Bettas don't like the current filters usually create, and heaters can get dangerous quickly. (I do keep my place around 76 farenheit). I would NEVER let a betta live their whole lives in a teeny plastic cup. But are we over estimating the minimal sizes?

I'm brand new to this website, but i've owned at least one betta for most of my life. Probably around 13 years or so. I currently have two bettas, a juvenile and an adult. The big guy is in a gallon and the little guy is in a 1/2 gallon. He has a live plant in with him and I have java moss on order for both. Both get regular water changes at least weekly.
The little guy I got as a fry, and since I did, his color has improved tremendously. I just got the adult since my last one passed away after four years, and he made a bubble nest the first night. Neither of these handsome males have a filter or a heater. My sister has an adult in a bowl and he always has a bubble nest made, and probably the most active fish i've ever met.
So while bettas do like space, if there are regular water changes being made, is the biggest and baddest supreme tank really necessary? There are fish owners who get a 20 gallon for one tiny betta, and the poor thing has a difficult time getting to the surface to breathe. Bettas don't like the current filters usually create, and heaters can get dangerous quickly. (I do keep my place around 76 farenheit). I would NEVER let a betta live their whole lives in a teeny plastic cup. But are we over estimating the minimal sizes?

I agree with you 100%. However, most of the people on this forum have much bigger tanks and set ups, and they would probably feel that that is a more suitable set up for a Betta.

I've done a lot of research, and every Betta site will give you different info about temperature, feeding, water changes, medication, etc. It gets really confusing. I feel that everyone needs to do what's best and what works for their own fish. My older Betta for example, whose closing in on 4 years old, has never been in a heated tank in his life. He's never been sick in the 3 years I've had him. I think if I would suddenly put him in a hetaed tank, he would either get sick or possibly die because he's so acclimated to room temp water. I have my 3 Bettas in 1 gallon, unheated and unfiltered bowls and aside from a little tailbiting that's now resolved with my Juvenile one, they've all been healthy and disease free.

I'm brand new to this website, but i've owned at least one betta for most of my life. Probably around 13 years or so. I currently have two bettas, a juvenile and an adult. The big guy is in a gallon and the little guy is in a 1/2 gallon. He has a live plant in with him and I have java moss on order for both. Both get regular water changes at least weekly.
The little guy I got as a fry, and since I did, his color has improved tremendously. I just got the adult since my last one passed away after four years, and he made a bubble nest the first night. Neither of these handsome males have a filter or a heater. My sister has an adult in a bowl and he always has a bubble nest made, and probably the most active fish i've ever met.
So while bettas do like space, if there are regular water changes being made, is the biggest and baddest supreme tank really necessary? There are fish owners who get a 20 gallon for one tiny betta, and the poor thing has a difficult time getting to the surface to breathe. Bettas don't like the current filters usually create, and heaters can get dangerous quickly. (I do keep my place around 76 farenheit). I would NEVER let a betta live their whole lives in a teeny plastic cup. But are we over estimating the minimal sizes?

There are some things here that I really need to address.

Juvenile bettas coloring up does not necessarily mean that they are happy with they're environment, it just means that they are growing up and that the conditions enable them to be healthy enough to show better colors than they did at the store (which isn't saying much). I can tell you that every betta I've owned, even the ones that already look good, have looked better after getting into a warm (heated), substantially sized tank and a good diet.

Bubble nests are also no indicator of happiness. Unfortunately this is a frequently perpetuated myth, but it is not true. Bettas make bubble nests to incubate the eggs in after breeding- it is a purely instinctual behavior. I've seen bettas in heated, filtered tanks make nests that are less impressive than some of the nests I've seen in tiny blue petstore cups from clamped fish with fuzz growing on them.

No ones saying everyone needs to go out and buy a ten gallon tank for each of their fish right now (except maybe some of the less... Informed people on Yahoo Answers ), and it isn't a competition. Right now I have fish with (mostly) permanent homes in everything from a planted, heated one gallon jar to a planted, heated twenty gallon tank- yes, I am currently keeping a single betta in a 20g. And no, she is not a "poor thing", she is one of the healthiest, most active fish I have who has absolutely no difficulty reaching the surface. Of course that was never supposed to be her permanent home, but I'm in no rush to go out an buy fish I don't need just to fill a tank.

Using dramatic blanket statements like "bettas don't like the current filters usually create" and "heaters can get dangerous quickly" is unnecessary and unfounded... Filters are perfectly fine for most bettas and can be baffled or you can use a different type for the finicky long finned males, and believe me when I say that if heaters could really "get dangerous quickly" I wouldn't be keeping them in tanks with single fish that are worth 45$ (and a breeding program).

So no, I'm fairly sure we aren't over estimating the minimum size. One gallon, the commonly cited minimum size for a single betta, is small enough as it is.

Hopefully I am not coming across as rude or offensive, it just, as someone who breeds bettas and has a working understanding about how they work and how their environment affects them, bothers me a bit when I see information like this :).

I just wanted to clear a few things up, I don't think you were being rude at all: I meant the incredibly tall 20 gallon tanks... i've seen older bettas really struggle to get to the surface. But this is just what i've seen. It really sounds like you know what you are talking about!
I usually see people refer to 2.5 or 5 gallon tanks as the minimal. While I don't currently have heaters, I do keep my apartment REALLY warm- around 78. If you aren't careful, heaters can be dangerous. It's electricity in water. I am thinking about buying an under-the-bowl heater for my boys, but i'm not sold yet.
Both of my guys are very active, responsive, and healthy. If that doesn't mean that they are happy, then I really don't know what I should be looking for. This is just my opinion. I think, at the end of the day, it all depends on the individual fish

I just wanted to clear a few things up, I don't think you were being rude at all: I meant the incredibly tall 20 gallon tanks... i've seen older bettas really struggle to get to the surface. But this is just what i've seen. It really sounds like you know what you are talking about!
I usually see people refer to 2.5 or 5 gallon tanks as the minimal. While I don't currently have heaters, I do keep my apartment REALLY warm- around 78. If you aren't careful, heaters can be dangerous. It's electricity in water. I am thinking about buying an under-the-bowl heater for my boys, but i'm not sold yet.
Both of my guys are very active, responsive, and healthy. If that doesn't mean that they are happy, then I really don't know what I should be looking for. This is just my opinion. I think, at the end of the day, it all depends on the individual fish

I think your right about what you said in your last statement "at the end of the day, it all depends on the individual fish". I agree. As I said, my 3 Bettas are all quite healthy in their 1 gallon tanks at room temp, (and may I add that my room temp is no where near as warm as yours is!!) and I would think by now, they'd be displaying unhealthy symptoms if something was off or they were unhappy.

I would have no problem upgrading my tanks, and adding heaters or filters if it meant keeping them happy. But until they let me know otherwise, I plan to stick to what works.